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When the FX hit Justified returns for its third season on January 17 (catch up on season 2 on DVD, which hits stores Jan. 3), it’s going to come back with a bang. At least according to the show’s star Timothy Olyphant.

“We’re surely off to the races in the first episode,” says Olyphant, 43, who stars as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. “My guess is a little more blood gets shed this year.”

Read on for more teasers from season 3:

On Winona’s pregnancy. “It’s one thing to try and work on a relationship fraught with problems to try and make it work and it’s another thing to make that work with a baby on the way. It certainly raises the stakes.”

Love-triangle afoot? (Carla Gugino guest stars as someone from Raylan’s past.) “She certainly offers [romantic] possibility. She’s fantastic. I was so thrilled that she was able to come on and willing to come on and do something. It’s a pleasure working with her, she’s a pro.”

Will Raylan ever leave Harlan? “I can tell you what we would do if we had it my way, but I don’t think that would be fair to the people who actually make these decisions. But I think the cool thing about the show and certainly the Marshal Service is that it’s a federal organization and they can go all around the country to get the job done and I think that’s a nice luxury to have.”

New kids in town. “I’m not sure if anyone will be able to fill [Margo Martindale’s] shoes. That was something very special and she’s terrific and a lovely woman. I just adored working with her and she’ll be missed. The good news is that the world we are living in this year is still very rich and fascinating. Mykelti Williamson’s character I find very fascinating. He lives in a place called Noble’s Holler that was set aside for emancipated slaves and is rich with history. Given some of the characters we’ve had on this show and race relations issues we’ve had on this show, I think it’s a really nice addition to the story.

“[Neal McDonough] is the flip side to that. He’s an outsider. He comes from the north and comes in to take advantage of the hard times in Harlan county and wants to make a dollar off of it. That’s kind of cool as well. It’s always nice when you can tell a story that feels very contemporary but feels like it’s rich and laced with so much history, something we’ve been able to do for the first two seasons. Hopefully we’ll be doing it again.”